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Students raise money for wolf conservation center

Kane Area students recently participated in a very successful service-learning project to raise money for a wolf conservation center.One Kane fourth-grader who was curious about our local school mascot did some reading and found out that the wolf is still an endangered species. She and some friends decided they would like to raise money to help save our mascot from becoming extinct.The three AmeriCorps members at the Kane Area School District used her idea to develop a service-learning project of making and selling bead wolves to benefit the New York Wolf Conservation Center of South Salem, N.Y. A class of high school history students researched wolf facts, a group of sixth-grade students used math to calculate the amount of materials needed, and four fourth graders created informational posters. The sixth- and fourth-graders then assembled the bead wolves, attached them to cards with “amazing wolf facts,” and sold them to elementary and middle school students.Mr. Jim Sirianni was instrumental in helping the students become excited about this project. The project leaders asked him to give a portion of his presentation about the Lobo Wolves to the volunteers, and they responded enthusiastically. Sixth-grade math teacher Mrs. Julie Rook allowed her fifth period students to take extra time to work on the bead wolves for about three weeks. Some students counted out beads while others cut string, created wolf fact cards, and assembled the bead wolves, working as a team to perform a valuable service. The response was gratifying to the volunteers; over 100 bead wolves were sold in the first few days after they were finished, and the sixth graders volunteered to make more. The students raised a total of $225 to benefit the wolf conservation effort, and learned some valuable lessons in the process.